Cold Case
by Litanya
Summary: Ten years ago, Taichi Kamiya was mysteriously murdered. Now it's up to Ken Ichijouji to solve the crime... but what will he do when his closest friends are all suspects?


Litanya: I don't own Digimon! Oh, and I know… I'm obsessed with twins, but I just blame my brother for that. I have been called my older brother's twin more times than I can be bothered to count, and sometimes I wish I was his twin (so then I would be the same age and therefore he wouldn't order me around as much as he does. Not that he orders me around much but…). Yeah, so I am obsessed with twins. This fic happens after 02, but before the ending and Yama and Sora never dated, k?

_**Cold Case**_

The three teenagers almost ran out of the chemistry lab in their haste to avoid their demonstrator. So what if they had 'accidentally' added the chemical so fast that the mixture had spilled over and turned a deep purple? They had only been trying to finish the experiment, after all. It was all in the name of science- they had to find out what happened.

"Oh my… did you see the look on her face? You'd have thought that we had burnt the entire laboratory down and then made her pay for it! So what if we had to evacuate the room because the fumes were dangerous… it wasn't our fault!" Yamato Ishida was almost as famous for his trouble-making as he was for his music. The blond was in a famous band 'The Wolves,' but he had been forced to go to university and do a science degree by his father. His laughter slowed as he realized that his two friends were not as impressed as he was. Sora Takenouchi was almost a head shorter than he, but he feared her when she was in a bad mood. She had a fiery temper once she was provoked, and Taichi Kamiya, the third 'musketeer,' seemed to be excellent at setting her off. Taichi was the soccer star of the trio. He had earned a soccer scholarship, and he studied science because Yamato and Sora did. Or so he claimed anyway.

"Yeah, it was pretty funny," Sora agreed, dropping her books as they arrived at the place where they hung out in between classes. Taichi flopped down onto his back and stared at the sky, his infamous grin taking up half of his face.

"Ah… this is university life. You have to love it. We go to class, mess everything up, apologise and then relax in the sun. Oh, and we pass of course. Why wasn't school like this?"

"Because teachers are masochists who tell you that your life depends on your exam scores; that is why. Then when we get to see the world for ourselves, we see that they lied and so we don't get our hopes up for people to tell the truth. I mean… we're still going to pass this experiment and we completely made a mess. Hey, what's the time? Don't you have a game this afternoon?" this last she asked Taichi, who was still staring up at the sky. Yamato checked his watch and chuckled evilly.

"Taichi, if you want to get to your game on time, you have to leave in five…four…three," the brunette was up in a shot. Soccer was the only thing that could get him moving that quickly. Well, except for Sora when she was in a bad mood of course.

"Bye guys, I'll see you later," before they could reply he was gone, dragging his lab coat behind him. Sora glanced down at her own watch and then raised an eyebrow at Yamato.

"Did you really see it necessary to send him off an hour early to his game?" she asked. He only grinned back at her.

"It's payback for when he told me that my band had an emergency meeting that I had to attend, at midnight. He'll get over it," he waved his hand dismissively, "Besides, I have to go anyway. I have rehearsal. I'll see you tomorrow!"

* * *

_Two Weeks Later…_

The body was found on the soccer field by a nurse returning home from work. Detective Sousuke Kanagawa was in charge of the investigation. The victim was a teenage boy, around 18 years of age. A driver's license identified the body as that of Taichi Kamiya. The boy- he was too young to be called an adult- had been shot in the chest. No gun was found at the scene, no DNA, nothing. There was no doubt that the shot had been intentional. The suspect list was relatively small. No one knew anyone who held a grudge against the boy. There were no leads. The case was locked away in a box and placed in what had been deemed the 'cold' room- the room where all unsolved cases were placed.

* * *

_Ten years later…_

Detective Ken Ichijouji often went into the 'cold' room when he was at work. He couldn't help it. He was drawn there every time he had no cases to work on, every time he thought about why he had become a detective. His eyes were always drawn to a box in the corner. Dust had gathered on the lid. It looked no different to most of the other boxes in the room, but to Ken, this box was different. It held a mystery that he desperately wanted to solve.

"Why do you always come here?" he whirled around to see his boss standing in the doorway. She had worked with him for the past five years, and so she knew about his little habit. She had never asked him about it until now though.

"I um… I don't really know exactly. Well, I do but… ten years ago one of my friends was murdered. We never found out who did it. There were basically no suspects, no evidence, but they knew that it was a deliberate murder. That case was what inspired me to become a detective. I felt that it was unfair to Taichi that everyone just gave up and let whoever killed him run free. I wanted to change that… but it doesn't matter," she walked over to the box he had been staring at and pulled it off the shelf. She had a quick flip through its contents, before she replaced the lid.

"We'll open the case. But you have to work with another detective at all times due to the closeness of this case to you personally. I don't want to hear anything bad about your work. You're doing well. Don't disappoint me on this," and with that she casually walked out of the room. He could hardly believe what she had said. He was going to reopen the case. He was going to find out who killed Taichi. The case played on his thoughts all day. He reviewed the notes left by the detective who had originally taken the case, and began organizing interviews with the past suspects and the last people to see Taichi alive. Finally he left work, the case still on his mind.

"So you get to work on Taichi's murder case? Are you sure that you can do that?" Ken was helping his wife, Miyako Ichijouji, formerly Miyako Inoue, with the dishes. Taichi had been Miyako's friend too; he had been her best friend's older brother. Ken knew that his wife didn't doubt his ability as a detective, just that she knew that he could get emotional very easily.

"I have to solve it. Taichi didn't deserve to be killed. We owe it to him to find the murderer. We have to," she didn't say anything for a moment, but he knew that she agreed.

"We owe it to him," she whispered. It was only then that he realized that she was crying. Taichi hadn't been the only victim of the crime. He supposed that he was going to find out the extent of the damage.

* * *

28 year old Sora Takenouchi looked almost the same as she had when she was 18. Her auburn hair was still cut short to just under her chin, and she hadn't seemed to have aged much. However, large bags lay under her eyes and the fiery spark that had always lit up her eyes seemed to have disappeared. She walked into the interview room a little nervously. Ken stood to greet her. He hadn't seen her in almost nine and a half years. Although she had given the police her new address, she had neglected to tell her friends where she had moved to. As a result, they had lost contact with her. It was good to see her again.

"Sora thank you for coming. This is detective Isagara; she will be helping me with the investigation," the petit woman on Ken's left nodded at Sora, who returned the greeting, "Do you need a drink or anything?"

"No thank you. You're really re-opening the case? You're going to find out what happened to Taichi?" the question seemed doubtful, as though she had gone through this before and had gotten bad results. Well, of course she had. She had been on the suspects list.

"We're going to find out," they sat down around a table. A tape recorder lay on the table, and Ken pressed the record button, "This is an interview on the investigation into the death of Taichi Kamiya. The interview is conducted by detective Alana Isagara and detective Ken Ichijouji, and the interview is with Sora Takenouchi." He took a deep breath. "Now Sora, how did you know Taichi?" Her hand flew up to the necklace she wore around her neck before she answered.

"Taichi was my best friend. I met him when I was five and he was my best friend ever since then," her voice only shook a little, but she fidgeted a lot with her necklace. Ken understood. He would be nervous too, if he was being interviewed.

"When was the last time that you saw him before he was killed?" the questions had been asked before, and he knew her answers, but it was always good to double check stories. It had been ten years- if she had killed him she could let something slip.

"I last saw him the morning that he was killed…

_Flashback_

_Sora pushed her way through the mass of people walking slowly through the food court of the university. She had promised Yamato and Taichi that she would meet them to study for their chemistry test, but so far the crowds had prevented her from getting anywhere. She finally managed to dodge through a small space in the crowd, and after thanking God for making her short, she caught sight of her best friends. Taichi was bouncing a soccer ball on his knee, occasionally hitting it too hard and having to apologise to the people he had hit. Yamato sat at the table, scribbling something down in a book. She doubted that he was studying yet though._

"_Hi Sora!" Taichi called out cheerfully, ignoring the fact that he had hit yet another person with the ball, "We were going to start without you but then we thought that you would feel really left out. We didn't want to be mean, so we waited for you. Don't you feel special?" She laughed as the person Taichi had knocked threw the ball back at him, hitting him in the head. Taichi just turned and glared at the guy, rubbing his head with one hand and holding his ball with the other. Yamato looked up from his scribbles- they were song lyrics as she had thought- and laughed with Sora._

"_I'm sorry that I'm late; this crowd is crazy today. I swear that if I wasn't small I would have been crushed to death by the mere thought of the crowd squishing me. But you could have started without me; I wouldn't have been offended," Taichi reluctantly took a seat at the table as she did, and he placed the ball in his soccer bag. His chemistry notes appeared to consist of several tattered pieces of paper that were held together by a piece of string. Yamato put his song book away and pulled out a neat, organized folder. Sora's own notes were organized a lot like Yamato's- she used a colour code system too. Taichi eyed her notes and Yamato's before looking at his own._

"_Uh… Taichi, don't you think that you should start to get a little more organized?" Yamato asked, grimacing at the untidy scrawl on Taichi's notes. To her surprise, Taichi got angry._

"_This is as organized as I can be. I'll pass the stupid exam, that's all that matters, right? Just because you and Sora need to have your notes colour coded and listed alphabetically doesn't mean that everyone has to," she exchanged puzzled glances with Yamato. They had always chastised Taichi about the terrible state of his notes, and he usually just laughed it off._

"_Its okay Taichi, Yama just thinks that we all need to live up to what he thinks is perfection. Let's just study, okay guys?" she didn't feel like having an argument then. Yamato seemed ready to agree, but Taichi grabbed his notes off the table and stood quickly, "Where are you going? You promised that you would help us study!" He shook his head slowly._

"_I think that I should study on my own. Your notes are too organized for my taste. I'll see you around!"_

_End of flashback_

"…and then he left. I didn't see him again for the rest of the day, and then… that night I was told that he had been killed," Ken didn't know why, but he felt that she was holding something back. He could tell that she was upset about what had happened, but also… there was just something missing.

"It was noted at the time by some of your friends that you and Taichi had been acting a little weirdly around each other. Why was that?" there had been no answer to this question before. According to the notes, Sora hadn't acted any differently towards him. But now there was a hesitation about her that made Ken a little nervous. She began to trace a pattern on the table top with her left hand. Her right still held her necklace.

"I guess we were acting a little strangely. I've thought about it a lot during the past few years, but I have never figured out why. Nothing had changed as far as I could see. We hadn't fought, we hadn't done anything different than usual but… he was acting a little distant. I could never put my finger on just what was different about him, but it was there. I should have investigated it, but I just thought that he was having problems keeping…" she trailed off and muttered something under her breath.

"He was having trouble keeping what?" he asked her quietly. She sighed and looked at the ceiling as though she was saying a quick prayer or something.

"I guess that I don't have to keep it a secret now, but back then… Taichi and I were secretly dating. We had been since we were sixteen. We didn't want anyone to know- if Yama had found out then he might have felt left out- so we kept it a secret. It just confuses me so much. All I really know is that he was acting a little weirdly and when Taichi acted weirdly, you had to be very careful around him," he still felt that she was holding something back, but the feeling had lessened. The fact that she and Taichi had been dating was a bit of a shock- although Miyako had always claimed that the couple was destined to be, no one had ever thought that they were actually dating.

"Do you know anyone who held a grudge against him, or may have wanted to kill him?" she shook her head quickly. It was only then that he noticed that she had tears in her eyes.

"No one that I know would have killed him… but then again, someone did. Yama may know more about this. I know that I said before that Taichi hated keeping secrets, but that wasn't exactly true. He would keep any secret that he felt would hurt anyone he cared about. Yama was always better at noticing when he was hiding things. Of course, Taichi wouldn't tell him what was wrong, but he may have noticed something. Yama is a secretive person himself, and so maybe…. Taichi was also very snappy with Yama at that time. It just seemed normal then but I could be wrong," Ken had already asked Yamato to come in for questioning; the astronaut was due to come in for an interview in about ten minutes. Taichi's little sister Hikari also had an interview later that day. He looked at his co-worker to see if she had any questions.

"Did you own any type of firearm ten years ago?" her tone suggested that she didn't think Sora had, but the question had to be asked.

"No. I had no need for guns. I don't know anyone who had…" she trailed off as she seemed to try to remember something. The detectives waited patiently, "I did know someone who had a gun. Taichi's parents owned one. They wanted to be able to protect themselves in case of an armed robbery. Taichi used to joke about his mother having a militaristic approach to potential armed robbers or something. They were the only ones that I knew who owned a gun." The detectives exchanged looks. There had been no mention of the Kamiyas owning a gun before. Alana motioned with her hand that she had no questions and Ken finished the interview, reminding Sora that she should contact them if she remembered anything.

"I'll let you know, but I have been trying to remember things for the past ten years, and I haven't gotten much," he was escorting her out of the interview room and out of the station, "Anyway, congratulations to you and Miyako on your wedding. I'm sorry that I missed it." It was good to talk about normal things now that the interview was done. He smiled a little shyly at her comment.

"Thank you. We didn't know where to find you otherwise we would have dragged you there. Why did you leave without a word of where you were going? I only realized that you had given your address to the Police when I opened the case. None of us believed that you were guilty, so why didn't you say anything about where you were going?" she shrugged.

"I had some issues to deal with. I had just lost my… my boyfriend and at that time I couldn't look at anything which reminded me of him without crying. Leaving without a word to the friends who would remind me just seemed to make sense," she was still hiding something, but he had no idea what it could be, "Besides, I wanted to change university courses anyway. I'm a primary school teacher now, and I couldn't do that without changing degrees. I didn't mean to lose contact with you guys but it hurt to remember. Will you forgive me?" He smiled as they arrived at her car. She was their friend, so of course they would forgive her.

"Of course we will. Please stay in contact with me now. You should come over for dinner one day soon. Miyako would love to catch up with you," she smiled politely. Her eyes were still a little red from her tears, and her hand still held her necklace.

"I would love to," she opened the door to her car and she was about to get in when a new voice cut into the conversation.

"Sora?" Ken turned to find the 'cool' Yamato Ishida standing behind him, car keys in hand and a look of pure shock on his face. Sora straightened and dropped her eyes.

"Hi Yama," she looked a little trapped. Ken studied Yamato out of the corner of his eye. Whilst the years hadn't seemed to touch Sora very much, there had been a big change in the blond man. His hair had been cut a lot shorter than when he was younger, and it looked as though he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. The only thing that appeared the same was his icy blue eyes which seemed to pierce through any mask. Ken had seen him a lot since Taichi's death of course; Yamato's younger brother Takeru was one of Ken's closest friends, but at the moment he was looking for differences between the eighteen year old Yamato and the twenty eight year old version.

"Where have you been these last ten years?" Yamato had always been good at hiding his emotions, and so it surprised Ken to hear a little bit of anger and hurt in his voice. Why was he so angry at Sora? She had only left because she was hurting. Ken could have yelled at himself. Yamato probably felt betrayed. Sora had been his best friend, and she had left him alone when Taichi had died. He had every right to be angry. But should that anger still be present after ten years?

"I've been around. It was too hard to stay here Yama. Taichi had been my best friend for as long as I could remember, and everywhere I went I felt haunted by memories. I couldn't stand it and so I left. I'm sorry, but I couldn't stay," Yamato just stared at her for a few moments, his eyes seeming to change to a different shade of blue as he struggled to find what to say.

"It's okay Sora. I shouldn't be angry at you. Whoever killed Taichi has a lot to answer for though," she nodded in agreement before looking down at her watch.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. My replacement is only hired until eleven, and it's a bit of a drive back there. Yama, you can get my number off Ken if you want. Please let me know if I can be of any more help," this last she directed at Ken and he nodded. As he and Yamato began to walk back towards the station, the blond looked slightly angry.

"Have you been keeping in touch with her without telling us?" Ken quickly shook his head.

"I found her number when my boss told me I could reopen the case. I had no idea where she was until then. She didn't move far as it turns out. She teaches at a local primary school," they entered the station and he lead Yamato to where Alana was waiting in the interview room.

"Hi, I'm Ken's partner on this case. Detective Alana Isagara," Yamato shook her hand before sitting down in the seat Sora had left before. Ken turned on the tape and introduced the interview before the questions began.

"Alright Yamato, when was the last time that you saw Taichi before he died?" Yamato closed his eyes and began to in an emotionless voice. He kept to the facts.

"I last saw him at about three o'clock on the day that he died…

_Flashback_

_He growled in frustration as a crowd appeared in front of him. He could just see Taichi through the crowd, but if the people didn't move, he would lose him._

"_Will you sign this please?" he ignored the pleas of the fan girls and tried to push a path right through them. He felt guilty about his comments to Taichi that morning. Taichi had enough pressure being put on him by his parents; he didn't need his friends criticizing his methods too. When the fan girls realized that he wasn't going to talk to them, they reluctantly parted. He managed to catch sight of Taichi turning into one of the cafes. He hurried to catch up, and finally he managed to tap the brunette on the shoulder._

"_Yama, why are you here? I thought that you had band practice or something?" as Taichi had whirled around, Yamato noticed that Hikari, Taichi's younger sister, was standing patiently next to her brother. Taichi must have been coming to meet her. He felt a little embarrassed that he would have to apologise in front of Hikari, but he was determined to do so. He hadn't missed band practice just to say hi._

"_I do; I'm going to go soon. But I wanted to apologise for this morning first. I had no right to criticize you. I guess that I was just a little stressed about the exam. Do you forgive me?" Taichi looked a little confused for a moment, before he waved dismissively._

"_All is forgiven. My notes were better than yours anyway," Yamato smiled. Trust Taichi to boast about everything. His smile froze a little as he saw the expression on Hikari's face. She looked angry. He didn't want to be near her if she was angry; his brother Takeru had described an angry Hikari to him and it didn't sound pleasant. Besides, he was late for his rehearsal._

"_Cool, well I had better get to my rehearsal otherwise my drummer will kill me. I'll catch you later," Taichi nodded and Yamato turned to leave. He had only walked two or three paces before Hikari started talking._

"_Mum says that you had better pass this exam with a high distinction or…" the rest of the sentence was lost, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for his friend…_

_End of Flashback_

"… I felt so sorry for him. Everyone was pushing him, trying to force him to do well academically when his real talent and interest was in soccer. The only reason he took a science degree was so that he could hang around with me and Sora whilst he practiced his soccer, but everyone expected him to get high marks. I must admit that Taichi wasn't exactly the brightest person in the world, but he didn't need people telling him what to do. Anyway, that's the last time that I saw him that day."

"Did you know notice anything strange about the way Taichi and Sora were acting around each other?" the question had to be asked. Sora was hiding something, and so she could very well be hiding the fact that she had killed him. Ken didn't believe that she had of course, but still, he had to check. Yamato considered it for a moment.

"Not really. Taichi was just acting odd in general, and Sora was acting perfectly normal. Well, she was acting a little cautious around Taichi sometimes, but that was only when he was in one of his weird moods. As far as I know, they were just as close as ever," Ken knew that he wanted to ask why they wanted to know about the relationship between his two friends, but he didn't say anything.

"We have heard that Taichi mainly snapped at you. Do you know why?" he chuckled softly.

"Taichi snapped at me the most because he knew that I could handle it, and because I was his main competition. You know Taichi; he was always competitive. He was scared that I would beat him in the exam; at least, that's how I interpreted it. He also knew that I was dating someone at the time, maybe he was jealous or something. I honestly have no idea as to what the exact reason as to why he chose to snap at me the most. Taichi was like that- random in many ways," he paused for a second, as though something had just come to him, "No, wait, I think that I know why. I umm… I had a little problem with smoking back then. I thought that it was cool to smoke. Taichi caught me doing it and he gave me Hell about it. He threw the packet into the trash and confiscated my lighter. After that he snapped at me all of the time; well, whenever he was angry anyway." Ken felt that he was telling the truth. It was amazing what kind of things came out in these sorts of interviews. He wondered if Takeru had known about his brother's habit.

"Were you angry at him for doing that?"

"No, he probably saved my life. And what did I do for him? Nothing. I didn't even know that he was in trouble until I heard that he was dead. He saved my life and yet I didn't even know that he needed help saving his. What kind of friend am I?" the last few comments seemed to be aimed at himself. He had lost a little of his cool composure. Ken even thought that he saw a tear in his eye.

"Did you know anyone who may have wanted to kill Taichi?" the question seemed to hang in the air as Yamato tried to gain back his composure.

"No. Everyone loved Taichi. I mean, yes he annoyed a lot of people, but he always apologised and they always forgave him. I didn't know of anyone who even disliked him to the point of having a yelling match. I guess that there may have been people who were jealous of him, but I didn't know of any who were so jealous that they would kill him."

"Sora told us that Taichi had been acting a little distant just before he died. Can you confirm that?" he looked startled for a second as Alana entered the conversation.

"As I said before, Taichi was acting odd in general. Then again, he had acted oddly just before the year 12 exams, and before any tests that we had to take before then. I just assumed that it was nerves. He may not have done well on these tests, but they were important to him. He didn't care about marks or grades, but these tests were his chance to prove to his parents that he wasn't all that stupid. That was important to him. That's all I really know about his behaviour. Sora would know better than I did. She spent a lot more time with him than I did. I always thought that they would end up dating one day, but… she would know better than me," Ken covered a smile with his hand. So Yamato hadn't known about the relationship. They must have covered their tracks well. Daisuke, Hikari and Takeru had known within twenty-four hours when he had asked Miyako out.

"Did you know anyone who owned a gun?" this question was going to become routine in this case. He knew it. Yamato again considered his answer.

"Taichi's parents owned one, but that was kept locked up in a safe in their apartment. They used it for protection. Other than that, I don't know if anyone else had one. I'm pretty sure that Sora didn't, and I certainly didn't have one," Alana seemed satisfied. Ken rounded up the interview, telling Yamato what he had told Sora about extra information.

"You'll be the first to know if I do remember anything. I'll try thinking about it. Can I grab Sora's number from you? I need to ask her about something," Ken tried not to be suspicious. Yamato had plenty of things he could want to ask her about. It had been ten years since they had last seen each other after all. He copied the number down for him, and after exchanging goodbyes he went back into the interview room.

"Do you believe them?" they always had sessions like this after an interview had finished, just to sum up the stories and check for any errors. Ken frowned at his notes.

"I think that Sora was telling the truth, but she was hiding something which could impinge on this investigation. Yama… he seems to be telling us all he knows about our questions. But he seems awfully eager to talk with Sora again. I know that she was his best friend, but it just seems a little suspicious to me. What do you think?" she reviewed her own notes.

"I agree with you. I'm curious about Sora's necklace. She kept it covered the whole time that she was in here. And Yamato… something just didn't seem right to me. I could be wrong, but he may be hiding something too," they continued to discuss the interviews like that, reviewing their notes and stating their opinions. It was half an hour before there was a knock on the door. After Ken called the person in, a timid Hikari entered the room, followed by a police officer.

"Hi Hikari, come on in. We just have a few questions for you," she nodded and her movements became more natural. He didn't blame her for being nervous. If he had had to come into this room for an interview, he would have freaked out. Hikari had grown her hair out since her brother's death. Her expression had changed somehow too- she sometimes seemed to drift off, as though she was searching for something she had lost. However, she was still just Hikari. He introduced the interview and she sat back calmly. He expected that she was trying to convince herself that this was just a discussion between him and her.

"When was the last time that you saw your brother?" she took a deep breath. He had read over her interview from the last investigation and he had been shocked to learn that her story differed from the one which Yamato had told them earlier. He hoped that she told the truth this time.

"I last saw him that morning, before he left for university," why was she lying? Was she trying to cover up the truth? Could she have been involved in her brother's murder?

"We know that's not true Hikari. Your friend Yamato told us that he saw you and Taichi arguing in a café at 3 that afternoon. Now why don't you tell us the truth?" she froze at Alana's words. Her behaviour was certainly suspicious- as much as Ken hated to admit it- with her lie so far, she could have killed him.

"Alright, so I was with him that afternoon. But I didn't kill him. I left him at 3:30. I had an after school photography excursion. I lied before because I hated myself for what I said to him before he died. I just wanted to tell him what Mum had said, but it turned into a huge argument…

_Flashback_

_She watched as Yamato turned his back, but she couldn't keep her anger inside long enough to make sure that he had gone properly._

"_Mum says that you had better pass this exam with a high distinction or she's going to throw you out," she informed him, keeping her voice low, but filled with anger. She wasn't angry at him; it was her mother she hated, "Why didn't you study with Yama and Sora? Your marks always were better when you studied with them." He didn't say anything for a moment. Instead he grabbed her arm and led her out of the café and into the street. He looked very irritated. He led her in silence until they reached a deserted area of the park._

"_I don't care what Mum says Hikari. Why do you tell me these things? I'm going to see Mum tonight after uni. She could have just told me then. Do you agree with Mum? Do you honestly believe that I would let myself fail this exam? Do you believe that I am that stupid?" She opened her mouth to defend herself, but he didn't let her, "I live in your shadow Hikari. With your academic success and your wonderful photography and your brilliant friends, I have no chance of ever doing well enough for Mum and Dad. Did you ever notice that? I thought not. I realized as soon as I accidentally sent you to hospital that I would never be good enough. I don't care about this exam, or if Mum kicks me out. I have a plan. I won't need to live in your shadow anymore and I'll finally be able to play soccer and hang out with my friends like I want to." This was absurd. He had no idea what he was saying. Their parents were just trying to encourage him; they didn't expect him to any better than his abilities allowed._

"_Taichi, you're being ridiculous. Mum and Dad care for both of us the same. You're just stressed and so you're blowing it out of proportion-_

"_Of course that's what you would say. You're their pet. You say yes when they tell you to, you beg when they tell you to. And you attack when they say, otherwise you wouldn't be here," why was he being so mean to her all of a sudden? He had always been kind to her and protected her from the world. What had caused him to explode like this? Instead of asking these questions aloud however, she released her anger. How dare he say those things to her?_

"_I am not their pet! If I decide to warn you, it's my own doing. Why can't you see that? Maybe you are dumb, because you can't see what is right in front of you. I am your sister; I am no better than you, although at this minute I doubt that," he just shrugged._

"_I don't feel like hanging out anymore. You can go early to your excursion. Don't be surprised if I won't talk to you when you get home," he walked off, heading towards the soccer field._

"_I hate you too Taichi," she called to his back. His steps faltered for a second, but soon he was stalking away even faster. She counted to ten and drew a deep breath. She would have to apologise when she got home, but only if he apologised too…_

_End of Flashback_

"… Do you see why I didn't tell that story? The last thing I said to him was a stupid lie, told because he had gotten me angry. I thought that that sort of thing only happened in movies, but I was wrong." Ken didn't know what to say. He knew what it was like to feel as if it was your fault that someone had died. His older brother had been killed when he had been only six, and the last thing Ken remembered wishing before Sam's death had been to make Sam disappear. Words or thoughts done in haste always came back to haunt.

"You mentioned that he had plans. Did you know what they were?" she shook her head, her eyes closed.

"No. He didn't tell me. He was angry at my parents, but he took it out on me because I always let him know what they said. It was true what he said- my mother always went on and on about my accomplishments, but she never said anything about his. I only realized it after he told me that day. He was right," Ken didn't know what to answer. He had never seen Hikari feeling this guilty before. When Taichi had died he had seen her depressed, but he had never known that she had felt this guilty.

"Do you know if he had moved any of his things or saved some money up or something?" luckily Alana, not emotionally involved with the case, was able to save him from saying something stupid. He was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't just let his colleagues handle the case alone.

"I don't really know. He bought something a couple of days before he was killed. He was going to show it to me, but he changed his mind. Whatever it was though, he was really happy about it. Sora would know about his plans, if anyone knew. They spent so much time together that it was a miracle they weren't dating. If Taichi had any plans, she would definitely know," they went on to ask her the same questions they asked the others, but they got the same answers. She didn't know anyone who had wanted to hurt her brother, and the only people she knew who owned a gun were her parents.

"Thanks Hikari for coming in," Ken told her as he walked her to her car, "I know that it is hard to talk about it to the Police. But I promise you that I will find the answer." She smiled sadly.

"It's okay. It was easier knowing that you were there. I just pretended that I was telling you instead. I'm not going to get into trouble for lying, am I?" he sighed and shrugged.

"It depends. If your information stopped us from finding out who killed him then maybe you could get into big trouble. I think that you might get a small fine- lying is greatly discouraged- but I don't imagine that you will get into too much trouble," she looked very relieved.

"I promise that I'll never lie again. I'm going to go see Mum and Dad tomorrow. We've never really looked in his room for anything- the Police last time had a quick look, but my parents didn't want anything disturbed. I'll try and look for something in there. I know that he kept a record of his thoughts, a diary sort of thing, so I'll look for that. It may have something in it. Hopefully it can help. I'm tired of wondering what happened. Anyway, I dropped Sari off at Takeru's mother's place. I'll catch you later- don't forget dinner on Saturday, okay? Sari wants to show you how good she's gotten at eating," he nodded. If she could find Taichi's journal- he couldn't imagine Taichi calling it a diary- it would be a great help. Maybe he had written something down there about being in danger, if he had been in danger, or if he had known someone who was angry at him.

"We'll be there. Say hi to Takeru for me. With the secrets that are coming out in this investigation, I might need to drag him down here for an interview next," she just blushed in embarrassment.

"I'll pass on the message. I'll you see Saturday evening then," when he got back inside he found Alana pouring over his notes, as well as her own.

"So what do you think of the case so far?" she glanced up at him for only a second before her eyes fell back to the notes.

"To tell you the truth, I think that your friends are keeping so many secrets that they must have a separate brain for all of their normal thoughts. I think that Hikari has told us everything that she thinks she knows- that is, all that she thinks is useful- but she lied before, so she could lie again. Your other two friends… Yamato and Sora… they are hiding things. Whether or not these things are relevant to the investigation, I don't know, but they are still hiding things. We need to talk to more people. What about the coach of Taichi's soccer team? They had training that afternoon. The session finished an hour or so before he was killed, but maybe the coach saw someone hanging around. Taichi must have had a reason for staying late. The nurse who found the body has moved to Australia, and so we only have her statement. Then again, she only found the body two hours later, and she didn't know him at all. I reckon that the coach is the best way to go. He still coaches the university team. They have a training session tomorrow morning at six," her look told him that he was going to be the lucky one to do the interview. He sighed. Miyako was going to kill him for having to get up so early.

"I guess that I get the short straw this time. Who were the other suspects on the list?" they spent the rest of the afternoon pouring over the notes left by the previous investigators. It turned out that there had been no other suspects. Taichi's parents had both been at work, and so they were not suspects. By the end of the afternoon, Ken was beginning to think that everyone in the city of Odaiba was a suspect. If the person who had killed Taichi had stolen something, then he might have thought the case was an armed robbery gone wrong. However, nothing had been stolen. The killer had just wanted to kill.

"Hey honey, how was your day?" Miyako greeted him as he got home. He sighed and put his briefcase down on the table, before lifting it up quickly and placing it on the floor. She always hated it when he put it on the table.

"Let me sum it up this way; I have an interview tomorrow at six in the morning," he walked towards the kitchen. It was his turn to cook. She followed him slowly, rolling her eyes at his briefcase.

"Your day was that good huh?" she said sympathetically, "Well, I thought that it would be a difficult case for you. What did Kari and the others say?" he gave her a reproachful look as he grabbed some fish from the fridge.

"You know that I can't tell you what they said. It's confidential," she met his look eye for eye. He looked away quickly before he gave in, "Look, all I can tell you is that I found out a couple of things today that they were keeping a secret. Of course, none of them knew the others' secrets, but a lot of secrets were revealed today. That is all I will tell you. It's up to the respective people to tell you what they said." She pouted- there was no other word for it.

"Fine, I'll ask them myself…once the investigation is over," she added quickly as he rolled his eyes. He loved his wife, but sometimes he wondered if she ever tired of gossip. He sighed and placed the fish in the microwave. At least he could have a relaxing evening to think about the case.

* * *

Taichi's soccer coach signaled for the team to continue running before making his way over to where Ken stood. Ken was holding a cup of coffee tightly in one hand, whilst his other covered a yawn.

"Good morning! I can't believe the talented Ken Ichijouji would become a detective, when he could have possibly played for Japan," Mr. Hakashima greeted him as soon as he noticed Ken standing there.

"Hey Coach, how are you? I do believe that you are greatly exaggerating my soccer skills. We all know that if anyone was going to play for Japan, it would have been Taichi," his coach nodded sadly and watched his players continue their practice.

"There's no doubt that he would have played professionally but… you need to ask me some questions about his murder, right?" Ken nodded and pulled a notebook out of his pocket with his free hand. He managed to balance the notebook on his arm and he pulled out a pen. The previous detective hadn't questioned the coach too closely. Basically the only question that had been asked was if Taichi had been at soccer practice that night.

"That's right. Now, Taichi was at practice the day he was killed. What time did the practice finish?" he felt a little embarrassed asking that question. He knew that practice always ended at four pm when it was in the afternoon and eight am in a morning. His coach didn't seem to notice his embarrassment however.

"Four. We actually finished on time for once. Then Taichi came and helped me pack up. It was his duty as captain of the team to do that," a quick hand signal to one of his players halted the drill they were doing and made the team start another. Ken was impressed by their professionalism.

"What did he do once he had finished helping you? Was there anyone around that he went to meet, or did he just turn to go home?" the coach smiled, as if remembering something a son of his had done. He had always treated all of his players as though they were his own children, and everyone on the team trusted him deeply.

"He was in a bit of a hurry. He helped me pack up half of the equipment, but he was anxious to go meet his girlfriend. She came over though and helped us finish packing up. She was a good girl… played a lot of soccer before she quit for tennis. It was a shame; if she had kept soccer up then she probably could have played in the major league too. Now, what was her name…Takenouchi? Sora Takenouchi. Once they had helped me pack up, they wandered off. It was something they did every soccer practice. I guess Taichi's parents must have thought that he was just staying late to practice or something, but he used the time to go on dates instead. Did that help?" Ken was scribbling down what he was saying as quickly as he could. He hid his shock though. He knew that Sora hadn't told him everything, but he hadn't been expecting this. Why hadn't Sora told him that she had seen Taichi that afternoon? Had she really killed him? The evidence was not looking too good for her.

"Yes, your information has been a great help. Thank you for your time; I'll leave you to your team now. I promise that I will tell you when we find out what happened," his coach smiled gratefully.

"Thanks Ken. Remember to drop by another time soon. Some of the players here could do with a talk on responsibilities. I never had to tell you or Daisuke or Taichi that soccer practice came before music concerts. Anyway, I hope to see you again soon," Ken said goodbye to his coach and began walking to his car. He didn't understand why Sora had lied, unless she had murdered Taichi. The problem was he just couldn't see her killing him. There was something he was missing. He was going to have to talk to Sora again. He climbed into his car and pulled out his mobile. He dialed in her home number, hoping that she hadn't left for work yet.

"_Hello?"_ he almost dropped the phone as a young girl's voice chirped into the phone. Had he dialed the wrong number? Then again, Sora could have had kids that he never knew about. She had been gone for a long time after all.

"Uh… hi. Is Sora Takenouchi there please?" there was a thump at the other end of the line, and a sound that made him think the girl was trying to cover the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand.

"_MUM! PHONE!"_ the girl's shout managed to startle him. In the background he could hear a boy's voice lecturing someone.

"_Hello, Sora Takenouchi speaking,"_ he could almost imagine her ushering the children out of the room as she spoke. The background noise certainly diminished.

"Hey Sora, its Ken. I'm going to have to ask you to come to the station for questioning again," he told her as calmly as possible. He hated doing this, but he needed to know why she had lied. There was a short pause on the other end.

"_When do you need me to come in?"_ he hesitated a little, but he knew that he needed her information straight away.

"I need you to come in as soon as possible. There's something we need to clear up," another pause, and there was a strange rustling sound in the background. It sounded as though she was opening a zip-up bag.

"_Well… I can be there in about fifteen minutes, is that okay? I'll also have to bring the twins along… they won't be any trouble,"_ she emphasized the last part, and he thought he heard a groan from someone in the background. Well, he couldn't tell her that they couldn't come.

"Sure, that'll be fine. If I'm not there, my partner will be," she assured him that she would come and then they hung up. The drive back to the station was filled with thoughts of what Sora might possibly say. She could tell him that she had done the deed, but he didn't think that she would say that. But why else would she have lied? He couldn't think of anything else.

Sora was just arriving when his car pulled into the car park of the station. She was helping two children out of the car. Instead of being around four or five as Ken had expected, 'the twins' were around eight or nine years of age. The girl had dark brown hair and hazel eyes whilst her brother's eyes seemed to lean more towards a red-brown, and his hair was the same auburn as his mother's. Oddly enough, the twins reminded him of Taichi, but that could have been because their skin was the same tanned shade as his had been. That and the fact that the girl carried a soccer ball under one arm.

"Hey Sora," he called as he climbed out of his car, bringing his coffee with him. It was still early after all, and the coffee was warm. Sora smiled and whispered something to the twins. They nodded and followed her as she came towards Ken. He led the three of them into the station, where they were greeted by Alana and another officer.

"You two stay here," Sora told the twins and they obeyed, going over to sit on a couple of chairs in the corner.

"Cute kids," Alana told her with a smile as they walked to the interview room, "What are their names?" Sora smiled and glanced back at them again. They had started up a clapping game.

"Tristan and Tamika. They're nine," she looked every inch the proud mother, and Ken had to wonder again why she had lied. Then again, he was about to get his answers. He officially started the interview once they had all sat down.

"Okay now Sora, you told us that you last saw Taichi the morning that he was killed. That isn't true now, is it? You saw him that afternoon too, didn't you?" she was fiddling with her necklace again. He was curious about it, but he couldn't just ask her about it in the middle of an interview. He had to concentrate.

"I did. I saw him after his soccer practice. We always met up then and hung out. I know that I lied, but when I was first questioned I was upset and confused and so I lied because I couldn't think straight. I lied yesterday because I knew that I had lied back then and I didn't want to get in trouble for it. I didn't kill him," she insisted, looking him in the eye. He wanted to believe her, he really did.

"Then what happened Sora? Why did you keep it a secret that you met up with him that afternoon?" she paused for a second before she held out what was on her necklace. It was a ring. It looked a lot like the engagement ring he had given Miyako back when he had proposed to her.

"I didn't say anything because I wanted to preserve the memory, and I had promised Taichi to keep the plans a secret," she replied, "I know; I know. He's dead; I don't need to worry about betraying his plans now. But back then, right when his murder was fresh… I couldn't make myself tell." So, not only had Taichi and Sora been secretly dating, they had been secretly engaged too. There were just too many secrets.

"So you knew Taichi's plans? You knew how he was going to escape his parents and university?" Alana asked curiously, "What were they? What happened that afternoon?" Sora waited for his slight nod before she answered. She really was reluctant to tell.

"Well… I picked him up from soccer like I always did…

_Flashback_

"_Alright, thank you for your help Sora, and you too Taichi. Now go and enjoy your date. I'll tell your parents that you're still practicing if they call Taichi," Mr. Hakashima told them, smiling as though they were his children and they were trying to sneak around behind their mother's back. The couple thanked him and wandered away, enjoying the sunshine and the fresh air in silence for a few minutes._

"_Hey Sora, have you ever thought about escaping from this place one day?" Taichi asked her as they flopped down on the grass next to their favourite Sakura tree, "As in, just leaving without anyone telling you what to do?" She watched as a blossom drifted from a branch to the ground before she answered._

"_Sometimes I think about it. But then I realize that all of my friends are here, and so are you," she put more emphasis on the fact that he was there. She wanted to go wherever he went- she had made that decision years ago. She knew that he was her happiness, and she hoped that he was his, "Why, are you thinking of leaving?"_

"_I got accepted into the Academy in Tokyo," he told her this casually, as though it was normal, but she could see the happiness in his eyes, his pride. He had worked hard at his soccer. The Academy was the training place for potential players for the Japanese team, and all players at the Academy got to play around Japan. She was so proud that he had gotten in. She sat up and gave him a hug._

"_Oh my gosh… this is so exciting! When did you find out?" He grinned, seemingly amused by her expression._

"_I found out about five days ago, but I wanted to keep it a secret until today. You're the only person I have told about this. I want to accept it… do you think I should?" she gaped at him as though he was crazy. If it had been her, she would have already written the acceptance letter and posted it._

"_Of course you should! It's the chance of a lifetime," she told him seriously. He still hesitated though._

"_I know… but… would you come to Tokyo with me, if I did go?" ah, so he was hesitating because he didn't want to leave her. It made sense, and she felt as though she was the luckiest girl in the world. Not many guys would bother to ask their girlfriend that question before accepting a position like this. She leant back against his chest and smiled happily._

"_Of course I'll come with you. I want to change my course anyway, so I can apply at Tokyo University. That's close to the Academy. There's no way I'm going to desert you, and you're not missing out on this opportunity either. We can move to Tokyo together," she told him firmly. He grinned and pulled something from his pocket._

"_I knew that you would say something like that so… I love you so much Sora and I want you to know that. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, wherever we choose to spend it. Umm… I know that I'm not saying this properly, and I'm not down on one knee, but Sora… will you marry me?" she stared at the ring he now held out to her. It was small, with a tiny blue gem in it. She had pointed it out to him a long time before in a jeweler shop as they had walked past. She tried to get her voice to work, but for a few moments it refused to._

"_Of course I will. I love you and I don't want to be anywhere else but where you are," she told him softly. They spent a few more minutes celebrating their engagement before they stood up for another walk. After all, both of them were active people._

"_I have set some money aside and I have looked at a few apartments in Tokyo. I short listed a few, if you want to look at them soon," Taichi told her as they walked hand-in-hand through the park…_

_End of Flashback_

"...and that's what happened. We started talking about getting away from Odaiba. His parents were really pressuring him and he wanted to leave soon. We had a lot to discuss. I left him near the soccer pitch as I usually do at quarter past six. Then I went home and helped my mother with an order of roses. That is the whole truth; everything that I know." Well, he had to admit that he hadn't been expecting that. Alana looked a little amazed at the story too.

"Did you see anyone hanging around near you at all when you left him?" she closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few moments her eyes popped open again.

"Daisuke was at the soccer pitch when I said goodbye to Taichi. He was watching us, I think. Taichi had been trying to avoid him for a few days, but Daisuke was coming towards him when I left. Maybe he knows more," Ken drew a deep breath. Daisuke was his best friend. He couldn't really imagine him killing Taichi. He had been crushed at his mentor's death. He had become a little withdrawn and he had avoided everyone like a cat avoids water. But they had brought him around again, and now he talked with them again. Still, he couldn't think like that on this case. He had to treat _everyone_ like a suspect.

"Why was Taichi avoiding Daisuke?" Ken asked, "I thought that they were friends." They had indeed been friends. At least, that's what he had thought anyway.

"They were… but Daisuke kept on bothering Taichi about Hikari and something else that Taichi never mentioned. He told me to lie to Daisuke whenever he asked me if I knew where Taichi was. There was something… wrong about the whole situation. I wish I could tell you more about it, but that's all Taichi would tell me, no matter how many times I asked," she had kept eye-contact with them for the entire interview now, and Ken was convinced that she was telling the truth. Daisuke was away on business, but he was due to return until Monday. They would interview him then.

"Did Taichi know about the twins?" this was a question that he just wanted to know the answer to. He wasn't entirely sure that it was relevant to the investigation, but he didn't care. She shook her head slowly.

"No. I didn't know I was pregnant until a couple of weeks after he was killed. I moved away soon after. But he didn't know. I wish he did. They take after him so much it's almost as though they inherited his spirit," she seemed to be recalling some distant memory, as a sad smile appeared on her lips, "They would play soccer day and night if they could. But is that all? I have to take them to school soon otherwise they'll be late." Ken looked at Alana and she nodded. He ended the interview and walked Sora out into the main room.

"Do the Kamiyas know about the twins?" he asked her quietly as the twins bounded to their feet and rushed over. She shook her head again.

"It was too hard back then… and now… they didn't even know that Taichi and I were dating. How can I tell them that the twins are Taichi's? They wouldn't believe me," they walked to her car. As the twins piled in, Ken touched Sora's arm and she stopped.

"They won't bite you Sora. You know as well as I that they considered you family. They would believe you if you told them. Remember that. Hikari and Takeru are coming over to have dinner with Miyako and I tomorrow night. We would be delighted if you and the twins could come, but I understand if you can't. Hikari and Takeru are bringing their daughter Sari, so the twins won't be the only kids. You don't need to answer now, if you need to think about it. You can call me tomorrow morning if you like. Here's my number," he quickly wrote the number down, and handed her the piece of paper, "I'll hopefully see you then." She smiled a little uncertainly.

"I'll think about it. Anyway, I'd better be off. Say hi to Miyako for me," as they pulled away he hoped that she would come to their dinner. She had been away from them for so long, they needed to catch up. And Kari deserved to know that she had a nephew, but he couldn't tell her because it was Sora's decision. He sighed. There were so many puzzles. To think he had thought that he had known everything about his friends. He had been seriously wrong. He glanced at his watch before going back inside. He had a lot of paperwork to get through before he could even think about calling Daisuke to organize an interview. Sometimes he wished that he hadn't become a detective just so he wouldn't have to do paperwork. Oh yes, it definitely wasn't his favourite thing to do.

* * *

Hikari felt very… wrong as she searched her brother's old room for his journal. It was something that she had never considered before. The journal contained his private thoughts- it would be like someone reading her diary. But he was dead, and the pages of his journal could tell her who had killed him. That's the only thing that kept her searching for it. It was that and her curiosity. She wanted to know how he had viewed life, how he had viewed her. But the journal wasn't under his bed, it wasn't in the back of his closet and it wasn't in his desk. She was about to give up when the floor creaked under her, and she almost slipped. She smiled and dropped to her knees. Of course he would hide it under the loose floorboard. He had always been a fan of those horror movies where the murderer hid their gruesome crime in clues left under floorboards. She found it there, along with a stash of cash and a few photos.

"Whoa…" she muttered to herself as she saw the cash. She quickly flipped through the photos. Most of them were of Taichi and Sora at the park, but a few were of the whole group, or just parts of it. She wondered when the photos had been taken of him and Sora, but she shoved those thoughts aside and leant back against the base of his bed. She opened the journal to a random page and began to read. It was dated about two and a half months before he had been killed.

_14th June 1996_

_Soccer practice was fun today. Coach made us do some fitness test, and whilst the others complained about it, I found it quite challenging and I love challenges. By the end of it all of the guys were laughing over the results. After practice Sora picked me up as usual and we went and saw a movie. I had a hard time explaining to my parents why I had to train for an extra three hours, but it was worth it. I wish that the movie lasted forever. It kind of scares me how much I love Sora… I mean, should it be possible for someone to care about someone else this much? I would die if anything happened to her. I asked her today what she would do if something ever happened to me, and she replied that she would be sad for a very, very long time, if she did not die too._

The entry went on about Sora for a while. She was surprised- she had thought that her brother loved Sora, but not that they were actually dating. She didn't find it hard to believe though- Taichi and Sora had been able to make anything happen when they were together. At least, that's how she saw it. She flipped through the pages quickly, looking for anything that appeared wrong or threatening. Most of the journal seemed to talk about Sora, but there were snatches of other things too. She learnt that he had threatened several boys who had decided to try and chase her before she had even noticed they existed.

_19th July 1996_

_Today I got to threaten another guy who thought he was good enough to date Hikari. They just don't get it. She has Takeru, and I know that she loves him because I saw her writing her name as Hikari Takaishi when she thought I wasn't watching. And this guy wasn't good enough for her, really. My little sister is perfect, and she deserves a guy like Takeru, not some random guy that won't appreciate her. Okay, I know I'm a little obsessed with protecting her, but that's because she's my sister and I love her. But I can never tell her that. I am supposed to be her older brother. I get to tease her and look out for what's best for her, even if she doesn't think that it's the best thing. I know that sometimes I get annoyed at her because she is so perfect, but I have to be jealous sometimes. I'm not perfect and I know that technically she isn't either. Look, I just contradicted myself. In my eyes she is the perfect little sister and I'm so lucky I didn't end up with a sibling I could never talk to. So little Hikari, if you ever read this, firstly get off my stuff, and secondly, I do love you. Now that you know, you can put this down. But I doubt that you would read this thing anyway, because you're too polite for that. (Don't worry, I haven't told anyone about Takeru yet.) Anyway, dinner's ready so I should go now._

So he really did care. She hadn't really doubted it, but she had to be sure. She wished that she could tell him that he had been the best older brother she could have ever wished for, but she had missed that chance. She sighed and pushed all of that out of her head. She needed to find a clue as to who had killed him. She flipped through the pages again, and then she found something that almost made her heart stop in her chest. It was entry that he had written two weeks before his death.

_23rd August 1996_

_I'm really worried about Daisuke. He came up to me today and asked if he could talk. At first I thought that he wanted to have another of the many discussions we have had about Hikari, but I was wrong. He came to me because he thought that I would understand, but I'm not sure that I did. We went to a quiet spot in the park and he explained his situation. I'm not sure that I got it quite right. You see, he feels like the world is against him. He feels as though his friends just put up with him because he is the leader of the younger destined, and that if he hadn't filled that position, then they would abandon him. I told him that that wasn't true of course, but he wouldn't listen. It was what he said then that really scared me. He only muttered it, so I'm sure that I must have misheard it. I thought that he said 'I wish I could hurt those who have hurt me.' I chose not to say anything to that at the time, but now I'm really worried. It's not like him to say things like this. I don't know what to do- I can't say anything to Hikari and the others because he made me promise that I wouldn't. I suppose that I'd better talk to him again._

The entry finished there. She frowned and turned the page to the next entry. She had never known that Daisuke had felt so down. She had to find out if Taichi had helped him.

_24th August 1996_

_I talked to Daisuke today. I waited for him after school, and walked with him to the park. He told me more about what he was feeling. When I asked him if he had meant it when he had said that he wanted to hurt those who had hurt him, he looked guilty, but said yes. He said that he wanted to hurt them because they were just pretending to be his friends, they had given him false hope, and they would probably do it again if something wasn't done about it. I really don't know what to do about this now. I'm trying to get him to understand, but I don't think it's working very well. He's very confused I think. If I could just tell Takeru or Hikari about it, then they might be able to get him to see sense. But if I do tell them then he might snap. I think that I should stay away from him for a bit to sort this out. I just hope that that doesn't make it worse._

The rest of the entry was about a different subject. She frowned at the page. Her brother hadn't mentioned anything about Daisuke to her. Had he said something to Takeru? She flipped through the entries, searching for information on Daisuke. She found another about three days before her brother had been killed.

_3rd September 1996_

_Daisuke is really worrying me now. He caught up with me today. I didn't want him to think that I was avoiding him, so I stayed to talk. He was worse than before. This time he described how he would hurt certain people. At first I thought that he just meant that he would hurt them emotionally, but that wasn't exactly what he meant. His plan for Takeru was- I need to warn him. I can't keep this to myself now. He's really scaring me. He even told me that he knew where he could get a gun. I told him that he couldn't go around hurting people like that. He told me I didn't understand. He's right. I don't understand and I don't think that I want to. I have to warn Takeru. That is all I can do. I can't tell anyone else. I managed to get Daisuke to tell me before he went and hurt someone. I can only hope that he keeps that promise._

She stared at the page, the words becoming a jumble as she re-read the passage. Daisuke had had access to a gun, and he had wanted to hurt Takeru. Taichi had made him promise to talk to him before he tried to hurt anyone. She turned the page, but there was no more writing. It looked as though Taichi had been too distracted to write anything more. She turned back to his last entry and read it again. At that moment, she felt that she knew. She had to get this journal to Ken.

* * *

Ken watched as his wife fussed over the napkins at the table. He was checking that the cutlery had been set out correctly, and she was supposed to be just waiting for their guests to arrive, but as far as he had seen, she hadn't been still for the past hour.

"Are you sure that Sora said she was coming?" she asked him for the fiftieth time in the past hour. He thought it was the fiftieth time anyway. He straightened one of the glasses and nodded for the fiftieth time.

"That's what she said. She told me that she would come, and that she would be bringing the twins. And Hikari and Takeru are coming and they're bringing Sari," he added the last part before she could ask if the other couple had cancelled, "Hikari said that she had something from her brother's journal to show me. She didn't tell me what and she sounded a bit vague, but she said that it definitely involved the case." He wanted to see whatever it was that had made Hikari sound so… troubled.

"Well, they should be here soon then," Miyako said, straightening up from where she had been folding a napkin again. As if to illustrate her point, the doorbell rang, and a young voice called out something from the hallway, "That'll be Sari." The little three year old had a habit of calling through the door even when her parents let her ring the doorbell. When Takeru, Hikari and Sari entered, Hikari came straight to Ken with an exercise book.

"Hi. I know that I shouldn't give this to you straight away, but I feel so guilty carrying it around. He even wrote messages in there for me just in case I read it. Some of those messages were warnings telling me not to read on. I'm glad he wrote them actually. But still, I shouldn't have been reading it. I think the relevant parts start about five days before he died. Or maybe it was two weeks before, I can't remember. But that is for you to read at work, not now," he thanked her for it and he put it next to his work papers so that he didn't lose it.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. We have another few guests coming tonight for dinner," Miyako told the others as the doorbell rang again. Ken answered it this time and Sora entered with the twins following along behind.

"Sora? But we haven't seen you since… I mean… how are you?" Takeru was the first to break the silence and soon everyone was talking over everyone else. The twins and Sari stared wide-eyed as the adults seemed to forget about them. Tamika was the first one to break the rush of hugs and greetings that the adults were engaged in.

"You're the guy Mum was talking to yesterday," she said, staring up at Ken. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, you and your brother got to come to see the police station," the little girl grinned.

"My friends were so jealous! Tristan and I got to tell everyone at recess what we saw. It was so cool!" Hikari was staring at Tamika with an unreadable expression.

"Sora, they're so cute! What are their names? How old are they?" she asked. Ken had a feeling that she somehow was guessing that she was related to them.

"Tristan and Tamika and they are nine," Sora replied calmly. She then made sure that the twins were looking the other way, "Umm… you see… I have a confession to make. Taichi and I were dating when he was killed… well, we were engaged and the twins…" She trailed off, unable to continue.

"I know. I read about you and him dating in his journal. I didn't know about the twins of course, but… I understand. I'm a little annoyed that you didn't come and tell me straight away, but I know that it would have been hard," Sora visibly relaxed and as the night went on, they all managed to catch up, and no more shocking secrets came out. The twins got along very well with Sari, and once they learnt that she was their cousin, they instantly became protective of her, and they told her that if she was in trouble she had to come get them. Overall, the night was a lot of fun, and as they left the guests all promised that they would have another dinner soon.

"Whoa… we have to do this sometime again soon. It was so good to see Sora again, don't you think? Well, I know that you've seen her three times this week, but it was good to catch up. You could have told me the whole story about the twins though- they weren't a part of the case," Miyako told him as they started on the dishes. He shrugged.

"They weren't a part of the case, but it was Sora's decision whether to tell you or not. She has had a tough few years and I didn't want to say anything in case she had a special reason for keeping it a secret," he took the pan that she was holding out for him and quickly washed it. He hated doing the dishes. His eyes wandered over to where he had placed the exercise book Hikari had given him. Miyako's eyes followed his gaze and she sighed.

"Alright… you can go and read it. But once you are done you have to come help with the dishes, okay?" he nodded and quickly dried his hands. He had a feeling that whatever was written in the journal was going to be a huge shock, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to take it.

* * *

Daisuke had changed radically since Taichi's death. Everyone had always said that he was a lot like Taichi, but that had been when he was younger. The serious business man Daisuke had become couldn't be more different to the fun-loving soccer-obsessed teenager he had used to be. His appearance was roughly the same. His hair was still short and spiky, his skin was still tanned and his eyes were still the same dark brown as they had been when he had been sixteen. There was a deep sadness in his eyes however, one that pained Ken whenever he looked into his best friend's eyes. Daisuke arrived at the Police station dressed in a suit. He had had a meeting at his work.

"Hi Ken!" he called out cheerfully as he walked into the station, "How are you? Hasn't Miyako scared you off yet?" okay, so maybe he had kept some of his sense of humour, but he was serious most of the time.

"I'm not too bad Daisuke, how are you?" Ken couldn't look his friend in the eye. From what he had read in Taichi's journal, and from a brief chat with Takeru that morning, things really were not looking good for Daisuke. Takeru had confirmed that Taichi had told him to be careful around Daisuke. He hadn't given much of a reason; apparently he had just said to be careful around Daisuke because he was going through a hard time. The journal entry told differently.

"Life is okay at the moment. I heard that you have reopened Taichi's murder case," Ken led his friend into the interview room and gestured for him to take a seat. Alana already sat in the room, waiting to begin the interview. Ken nodded to his friend's question and then introduced the interview.

"So, where were you at the time of the murder? That is, around six thirty, seven o'clock?" Alana asked as she plunged straight into the interview. Daisuke shrugged.

"I was at home with my sister. I got home around five o'clock and then we got into a fight about what movie we were going to watch that night," Ken sighed. He had really hoped that his friend wouldn't have lied. Maybe he really was hiding something.

"We know that's not true Daisuke. We have a witness who has told us that you were at the soccer pitch with Taichi at a quarter past six," Ken informed his friend quietly, "Please Dai, tell the truth. We need to know what happened." Ken's words seemed to have an effect on the suspect. He slumped forward and placed his head in his hands.

"I didn't mean it," he whispered, "He was trying to help me. I wanted to hurt Takeru- at least I thought that I did- and he was trying to stop me." Ken froze. Daisuke had done it. He had killed Taichi. Or at least that was what it sounded like.

"Please tell us what happened," Alana said, seeing that Ken was too shocked to speak. Daisuke lifted his head from his hands and looked at his friend.

"I'll tell you, but I really didn't mean it…

_Flashback_

_He watched as Taichi and Sora made their way back to the soccer pitch. He waited until Sora had started to leave before he approached his friend._

"_Taichi, I need to talk to you!" the older teenager turned from watching Sora walking away and stayed still. Daisuke broke into a jog. He needed to talk to Taichi. Taichi would help him; he had promised._

"_Hi Dai, how are you today?" he ignored the concerned expression Taichi wore and pulled out what he had hidden in his coat pocket. Taichi took a step back as he saw the small pistol, "Whoa Dai, why do you have that?" It started to rain at that point. It was light drizzle- a sun-shower. There weren't many clouds in the sky at least. Daisuke pointed the gun at the ground._

"_I told you what I want to do. You said that you would help me," he felt very nervous and edgy. He didn't really _want_ to hurt Takeru, but he needed it to stop. He needed them to tell the truth for once. He didn't know what he expected Taichi to do; he just needed help in some form. He recognized that fact at least._

"_I will help you Dai, if you give me your gun," Taichi looked around quickly, seemingly searching for someone, or something. Daisuke realized that Taichi didn't trust him. He was supposed to get help from someone who didn't trust him? He wasn't that stupid. Taichi was just like the rest of them. A little voice in his head tried to argue, and he soon found himself confused._

"_No, you have to help me without this Taichi. I have the gun; you will help me. Where's Takeru? Is he at your apartment with Hikari?" he was pointing the gun at his friend. The voice inside of him was protesting and was beginning to win. Taichi had never let him down before, why would he now? He had offered to help. All he had to do was give him the gun. Taichi was slowly reaching his hand towards him._

"_I don't know where Takeru is, but I do know that you don't really want to hurt him. You're confused and you need help. I will help you if you let me," Daisuke felt himself begin to believe what Taichi was saying, "Just give me the gun and then I will help you." Daisuke only realized then that he was trembling. He tried to lower the gun, but his hand wouldn't obey._

"_Please Taichi, where's Takeru? I need you to tell me," Taichi shook his head slowly, his expression sad. Daisuke wondered why he refused to look scared. Did he think that he would live forever or something?_

"_I am helping you by not telling you. Come on Dai. We can go to my place and talk over a cup of tea, okay? I will help you when we get there," he encouraged, taking a step towards him. The gun in Daisuke's hand seemed to respond to the step. He watched his friend fall back from the force of the bullet impacting into his chest. He looked at the gun in his hand in horror before his eyes went back to his friend. Taichi hadn't moved since he had hit the ground. He stared at his friend for a few minutes before he realized what had happened. He took a quick look around. No one was around. He glanced down at his friend again before he ran off and left his friend to die…_

_End of Flashback_

"…I didn't mean it. He took a step and I just reacted. I didn't want him to die and I didn't really want to hurt Takeru. I ran home and hid the gun in the back of the closet. I burnt the clothes I had been wearing. I just left him there to die. It never occurred to me to call for an ambulance, or the police. I just knew that I had to hide what I had done. Please Ken; you have to believe that I didn't mean to do it!" Ken didn't trust himself to speak. He now knew why Daisuke had avoided everyone so avidly after Taichi's death.

"I am arresting you on charges on murder…" Alana's words jumbled in the back of Ken's mind as he watched his best friend be arrested. As Alana led Daisuke out of the room, Ken finally made eye-contact with him. The emotion he had always seen as sadness he now recognized as guilt.

* * *

Ken and Miyako accompanied Sora and the twins to the graveyard, where Hikari, Takeru, Sari and Hikari's parents waited. Yamato was also going to meet them there. As Sora introduced the twins to their grandparents and vice-versa, Ken could have sworn that he saw Taichi wink at him. He smiled at where he had 'seen' Taichi. He had solved the crime, and now Taichi was free. As Yamato arrived and the introductions finished, the group slowly made their way to the grave.

The End

Litanya: I know, I know, the fic just ends stupidly. I really suck at endings. And I'm sorry to all Daisuke fans- I really do love him, but he was the only one I could think of with this reason. Koushiro and Jyou were just too sensible. I hope that you enjoyed the fic. It took me ages to write it… I wrote most of it about two, three months ago, and then had to edit it. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. Have a good night/day/afternoon/ evening!


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